STA boys hockey can’t catch Salem

DOVER — Andrew Leach knew his young St. Thomas Aquinas High School boys hockey team was in for its stiffest challenge of the season on Wednesday.

The Saints and their coach quickly found out how difficult it would be.

In a matchup between two teams near the top of the Division I standings, Salem took a 3-0 lead in the first period and never let up on its way to a 7-2 victory at the Dover Ice Arena. Sophomore Cody Soucy recorded a hat trick for Salem (5-1-1), while classmate Jake Pappalardo had a goal and three assists.

“We’ve been trying to put three periods together; it just hasn’t worked all year, so we’ve been practicing being ready for the first whistle,” Salem coach Mark McGinn said. “I thought we played three pretty good periods today.”

The Saints (4-2-1) were riding a two-game winning streak and were tied with the Blue Devils and Londonderry for third place in the Division I standings. Leach said Salem was a step up from the other competition they’ve faced this season.

“We got outworked pretty much the whole game,” Leach said. “They’re a physical team with a great system and their kids follow the system. It’s tough for our guys; we haven’t been tested like that all year.

“It was a matter of our kids trying to handle it and they couldn’t handle it.”

Salem took a 1-0 lead with 8:10 left in the first period when Chris Lemay collected the rebound from a Zack Sylvester shot and wrapped it around the net past St. Thomas goaltender Zane Angelopoulos (15 saves).

Soucy scored the first of his three goals nearly two minutes later on assists from Jake Bartlett and Pappalardo. Soucy later picked up a loose puck in front of the net and slipped it past Angelopoulos for a 3-0 lead with 2:54 left in the first.

“That was huge; we haven’t started well at all the past four or five games,” McGinn said. “To get that quick jump, get a little lead, it was definitely the difference for us tonight.”

The Saints got on the board when T.J. Boulanger banked a slap shot off the crossbar behind Salem goalie Nick Phair (20 saves) with 34 seconds left in the first period. Garrett Palmer was credited with the assist.

“We couldn’t get the puck off the wall and our defense had a tough time getting the puck out of our zone,” Leach said. “When they pressure hard and forecheck hard like that, especially at this level, it makes for a long day.”

Salem’s Kyle Svenson scored to make it 4-1 nearly five minutes into the second period. St. Thomas’ Zach Leavitt answered two minutes later on assists from Liam Ross and Palmer, but Soucy completed his hat trick late in the period to give Salem a 5-2 lead.

Pappalardo and Shane Morin scored in the third before Angelopoulos was pulled for Joe Benedetto. The Blue Devils held a 23-22 edge in shots on goal.

“It’s a good gauge for where we’re at right now,” McGinn said. “(St. Thomas) is a good, strong team and well-coached and it’s always good hockey. We always get up to play them.”

After St. Thomas graduated 11 seniors from last year’s 9-8-1 squad, Leach is encouraged by the way his team has started this season. He expects them to continue improving as the season moves on. The Saints begin a three-game road swing on Saturday at Nashua North.

“I didn’t know what to expect, especially after losing 11 seniors,” Leach said. “We’re young all around and it’s a process. We’ll be all right, hopefully be in the middle of the pack and make a run at the playoffs.”